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Not applicable.
This invention relates to a system for dispensing a fluent material from a container. The invention is particularly suitable for incorporation in a dispensing closure for use with a squeezable container.
There are a wide variety of packages which include (1) a container, (2) a dispensing system extending as a unitary part of, or attachment to, the container, and (3) a product contained within the container. One type of such a package employs one or more dispensing valves for discharging one or more streams of product (which may be a gaseous, liquid, cream, powder, or particulate product). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,531 and 6,112,951. The valve is a flexible, resilient, self-sealing, slit-type valve at one end of a bottle or container which typically has resiliently flexible sidewalls which can be squeezed to pressurize the container interior. The valve is normally closed and can withstand the weight of the product when the container is completely inverted, so that the product will not leak out unless the container is squeezed. When the container is squeezed and the interior is subjected to a sufficient increased pressure so that there is a predetermined minimum pressure differential across the valve, the valve opens.
In the preferred embodiment, the valve stays open, at least until the container pressure drops below a predetermined value. Such a valve can be designed to snap closed if the pressure differential across the open valve drops below a predetermined amount. The valve can also be designed to open inwardly to vent air into the container when the pressure within the container is less than the ambient external pressure, and this accommodates the return of the resilient container wall from an inwardly squeezed condition to the normal, unstressed condition.
Such a resilient valve typically includes a central head portion which is recessed inwardly from surrounding portions of the valve which project outwardly. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,951 illustrates such a valve mounted in the dispensing opening of a closure body to which is hingedly attached a lid having a post 90 for projecting downwardly toward the valve head when the lid is closed. Sometimes, when a lid is closed on a closure on a container which is subjected to external forces, such as may be encountered during packing, shipping, and handling, and such external forces can temporarily increase the container internal pressure by squeezing in a portion of the container wall. The increased pressure within the container may cause the valve central head portion to move outwardly. If unrestrained, the outwardly moving central head portion of the valve eventually opens, and a small amount of the product from the container might be forced through the open valve. In order to eliminate, or at least minimize, such undesirable occurrences, the lid post prevents the valve central head from moving outwardly far enough to open. Rather, the valve central head portion, as it begins to move outwardly owing to an increased internal pressure, contacts the lid post before the valve slits can open. Thus, the valve remains sealed in such over-pressure situations.
While the use of a lid seal post functions generally satisfactorily in applications in which it is employed, a closure incorporating a lid seal post in the lid necessarily adds complexity to the lid structure. The more complex lid structure requires a more complex mold and molding technique. A requirement to include a seal post in a lid can inhibit the closure designer""s design flexibility with respect to lid style, and with respect to the incorporation of other, unrelated features.
It would be desirable to provide a means for preventing the opening of a flexible valve in a closure during over-pressure conditions without requiring the use of a projecting seal post on the lid.
Further, it would be desirable if such an improved means for preventing the opening of a valve during over-pressure conditions could also generally function as a leak-proof seal for a package on which the valve-containing closure is provided.
An improved closure having a flexible valve and a lid without a seal post should also preferably accommodate a variety of lid designs that could provide other, desirable features.
It would also be beneficial if an improved dispensing closure system could readily accommodate its manufacture from a variety of different materials.
It would also be advantageous if such an improved closure system could accommodate bottles, containers, or packages which have a variety of shapes and which are constructed from a variety of materials.
Further, it would be desirable if such an improved system could accommodate efficient, high-quality, high-speed, large volume manufacturing techniques with a reduced product reject rate to produce products having consistent operating characteristics unit-to-unit with high reliability.
The present invention provides an improved dispensing closure system for a container that has an opening to the container interior. The user can easily operate the closure system to assume a closed configuration for preventing flow from the container or to assume an open configuration for permitting flow from the container.
The present invention provides an improved dispensing closure system that includes a closure body and a lid, preferably hingedly attached to the closure body, wherein the lid does not have any outwardly projecting seal post. This allows the lid to be more easily molded with less complex mold structures. In particular, the lid can be molded at an angle relative to the closure body top deck as a generally planar member to accommodate ease of molding and to reduce the complexity of the mold assembly.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a dispensing closure system is provided for a container that has an opening to the container interior where a product may be stored. The dispensing closure system comprises a body extending from the container at the opening, and the body includes a deck defining an aperture. The closure system also further comprises a lid movable between a closed position confronting the deck and an open dispensing position moved away from the closed position. The dispensing closure system further comprises a dispensing valve disposed with respect to the body at the deck aperture.
The dispensing valve includes (a) a marginal portion sealingly engaged with the body and retained at the body, and (b) a head portion that (1) is laterally inwardly of the marginal portion, (2) has an exterior side for interfacing with the ambient environment, and (3) has an interior side for interfacing with the product. Further, the valve head portion includes a normally closed orifice which opens to permit flow therethrough in response to a pressure differential across the valve.
The valve also includes a resilient, flexible, connector sleeve having an interior surface for interfacing with product and having an exterior surface for interfacing with the ambient environment. The connector sleeve has (1) a first leg connected with the marginal portion, (2) a second leg connected with the head portion to locate the head portion spaced laterally inwardly of the first leg to facilitate outward movement of the head portion when dispensing product form the container, and (3) an arcuate junction portion joining the first and second legs. The arcuate junction portion has a generally outwardly protruding, convex configuration when viewed from outside of the closure body. The valve is positioned on the closure body so that the junction portion of the connector sleeve projects from the deck aperture beyond at least a portion of the deck when the valve orifice is closed but the lid is in the open dispensing position. The arcuate junction has a generally outwardly facing surface for being engaged by the lid to elastically deform the junction portion inwardly when the lid is in the closed position. This prevents the connector sleeve from rolling far enough outwardly with the head portion to a position where the valve orifice would open when subjected to a sufficient pressure differential.
The closure system can be readily incorporated as a separate assembly of components defining a closure that is separate from, but which is adapted to be mounted to, the container. Such a closure may be incorporated in an embodiment which is removably attachable to the container or which is non-removably attachable to the container.